This invention relates to oxidation reactions. In another aspect, this invention relates to the conversion of organic halides to organic aldehydes having the same number of carbon atoms. In yet another aspect, this invention relates to the reaction of primary halide compounds with dimethyl sulfoxide.
The oxidation of certain organic halide compounds with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) in the presence of a non-nucleophilic base such as sodium bicarbonate, to produce organic aldehydes, is known to those skilled in the art. A problem encountered with this reaction is the undesired formation of by-product alcohol, which presumably results from the hydrolysis of the reactant halide, rather than oxidation thereof. The formation of by-product alcohol is undesirable because yields of the desired aldehyde product are thereby reduced and the resulting aldehyde/alcohol product mixtures are difficult to separate.